Church Services

Rejoice, O Virgin, Mother of God, full of grace, For from thee hath risen the sun of righteousness, Christ our God, enlightening those that are in darkness. Rejoice thou also, O righteous ancient, who didst receive Into thine arms the Deliverer of our souls that bestoweth On us resurrection.

Festal Troparion

Thou that didst hallow the virginal womb by Thy birth and Didst bless the hands of Simeon hast now also preserved And saved us, O Christ our God; but give peace amid the Wars to the community and strengthen them whom Thou Hast loved, for Thou alone art the lover of mankind.

Festal Kontakion

February 2, 2006 - SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church observes the Feast of the Meeting (Presentation) of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Temple with Great Vespers with Litiya on the Eve of the Feast and Divine Liturgy on the Feast Day itself. The composite above - consisting of the Festal Icon over a background of votive candles - reminds us that on this day it is the tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Churches that candles be blessed for use throughout the year. The scenes below from the Feast Day services are accompanied by text which describes the meaning of the Holy Day. The text - in italics - is taken verbatim from the excellent text, The Holy Days of the Russian Orthodox Church, written by the reposed Right Rev. John L. Semanitzky.

"St. Luke writes to us in his Gospel: "When the days of (the Virgin Mary's) purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought HIm to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord; (as it was written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons." "And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him, by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the law, then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 'Lord, now lettest Thou Thy Servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hath prepared before the face of all the people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.' "

"And Joseph and His mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of Him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary His mother, 'Behold, this Child is set for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also;) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.' " "And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayers night and day." "And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." "And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. And the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him." (St. Luke 2:22-40)

You may click on the photo above left to view an enlargement.

Why was Simeon promised the coming of Christ? There is a tradition that Simeon was one of the seventy learned men to whom was entrusted the translation of the Old Testament Bible from the old Hebrew to the then-prevailing language, Greek. To Simeon was entrusted the translation of the book of the prophet Isaiah. When he came to the passage, "And this shall be a sign unto you: a virgin shall give birth to a son, and he shall be called Emanuel, God with us'' (Isaiah 7:14), Simeon wanted to substitute for the word "Virgin," another word, "maiden." The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him that he would not see death until he held this Child in his hands. Another tradition gives a slightly different version. Simeon was a well-educated and very religious man and a reader of the Old Testament. Coming to this passage of Isaiah, he stopped and began to wonder if it could be true. He prayed to the Lord to enlighten him as to the truth of this passage. He then was given the promise by the Lord that he would not die until he himself saw this prophecy fulfilled. That is why he offered that memorable prayer: "Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace..."

On this holy day in our churches we bless candles. Jesus was called by Simeon, "The Light to enlighten the gentiles," - the light to lead all people out of the darkness of sin into light eternal. The symbol of this light is the candle that lights our way in places of darkness. Also, just the flame of the candle represents purity, so we must mould our lives to the purity of the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as the flame of the candle not only gives light, but also gives warmth, so should our prayers be pure with warm earnestness, which in turn will give us spiritual warmth and comfort. The candle also serves as a symbol of the Holy Trinity: the candle itself, the light, and the warmth - one in three. The candles blessed on this day are held in great reverence by our people and are used very sparingly. In case of a great storm the family's candle is lighted and the whole family prays to God to protect and guide them through the storm and have mercy upon them. When we are ill and about to receive the Holy Eucharist, the candle is again lighted to tell us that He, our heavenly light, is to be our leader and guardian for our soul.

If we are seriously ill and about to pass away, again the candle is lighted and even sometimes put into our hands in order to give us confidence that, even though we are about to enter the valley of death and darkness, He will lead us, our God and Light Eternal. Our Church has a ruling that any woman who has a child must present herself in Church on the fortieth day after the birth of the child. At that time the priest reads prayers over her head. These are prayers for her purification and for those who may have come in contact with her during the period before her purification, as well as for the health and safety of both mother and child. No woman is permitted to enter the church before these prayers are recited over her. In olden days she was not even permitted to go visiting in anyone's home. Especially is she strictly forbidden to receive the Holy Eucharist and to kiss the Holy Cross. The Church holds that, if our Lord Jesus Christ deemed it necessary to subject Himself to this law and if His Mother, the Holy Virgin Mary, whose conception was by the Holy Ghost, deemed it necessary to come for her prayers of purification, it should be the more so needed among us, who conceive in sin and live in sin on this sinful earth, to ask God for His aid, purification, and protection.

St. Dionysus of Alexandria says: "As to whether females, who are in the period of purification, can be permitted to enter the Church of God, I deem it even unnecessary to discuss, because I think that, if they are faithful and of good Christian life and should be in such a condition, they would not dare to come to the Church or touch the body or drink the blood of the Holy Eucharist. Even the woman who suffered for twelve years with loss of blood did not touch Jesus, but only His gown. To pray in whatever condition and in whatever state of mind we are and to ask the Lord to help us is not forbidden, but to come to receive the Holy of Holies in the sacrament is strictly forbidden unless one is of a pure heart, soul, and body." (Canon 2). The male child, when he is presented in Church, is taken by the priest into the sanctuary, as it was ordered by God: "Let all males opening the womb of their mothers be dedicated to God," for he may in later years become a priest to serve God before His altar. Also, as a male, he must serve God in every possible way. The female is brought before the altar-screen only, as one serving God as a hearer of His word and as a helpmeet to the male. We are also reminded that only She, who was the Mother of God, was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies, as one selected by God from among women to be His Mother. No other woman has been granted this privilege."

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